Ruan finished the tasks he had to handle faster than ever before. Marcel spoke to him as he left the office with hurried steps.
“Your Majesty, you can’t run away today! This isn’t just any matter, it’s about the Hero!”
A month ago, news that the Hero’s blessing had descended on the surface for the first time in 50 years had finally reached the Demon Realm.
A Hero meant an existence that the surface god who abhors the Demon Realm grants great power to in order to kill the Demon King. Though a Hero had never yet defeated a Demon King, there had been many times they’d driven them into danger.
Moreover, while all the Heroes until now had been human, this time it was said to be a beastkin.
A minority race, but a species with physical abilities far superior to humans—there was no knowing what variables they might cause.
Even before such a critical matter, Ruan waved his hand perfunctorily.
“I know, I know. I can go later, can’t I?”
Ruan, who waved his hand perfunctorily, moved away without looking back. Watching such a Ruan, Marcel was seething inside, but what was even more upsetting was the fact that he’d finished all the work in just 2 hours after sitting down.
“……When you could do it like this all along.”
Ha, really. Usually, when this level of approval documents and agendas were piled up, it would take all day to finish them all. Marcel couldn’t decide whether to be pleased or annoyed at his lord’s growth, displaying several times his usual concentration through the power of love.
Where Ruan headed was naturally the greenhouse. At the Demon King passing by with big strides, the demons all flinched and hurriedly bowed their heads.
They all just trembled without being able to utter a proper greeting, knowing how threatening the momentum flowing from him was. But he had no leisure to care about such things. It was almost lunchtime. He planned to catch Beni before he went to the servants’ dining hall and have a meal together.
Having reached the greenhouse entrance like that, Ruan stopped and arranged his outfit once. He even looked at his face vaguely reflected in the glass from various angles and smoothly swept back his disheveled hair neatly.
Ahem, hmm, only after clearing his throat several times did Ruan enter, throwing the greenhouse door wide open.
“Beni.”
Expecting Beni who would be adorably wearing an apron inside.
“Beni?”
The Demon King looked around here and there, but Beni was nowhere to be seen. The corners of his mouth that had been forming an arc gradually began to droop downward. Ruan, narrowing his brow, examined his surroundings even more carefully.
Beni was definitely nearby. Because his presence was clearly felt. But his figure couldn’t be seen, and his presence somehow headed toward a strange place the further inside the greenhouse it went. It was the moment anxiety was creeping up his legs.
Thud, a clear sound rang inside the greenhouse. Ruan immediately lifted his head with a snap and fell into shock at once.
“Beni!”
Because a grimy-faced Beni was looking down at him with a bright smile while holding a sickle on top of the glass ceiling. The Demon King teleported upward immediately without even time to think about why Beni was there.
“Huk!”
At Ruan who suddenly appeared before him while he was in the greenhouse, Beni was startled and flinched his body. Without even a moment to say a word, Ruan instantly lifted Beni into his arms.
“Beni! Why are you in a place like this!”
Though the greenhouse glass was solid enough not to crack even from considerable impact, it was far too dangerous for Beni to stand on with its height and even an incline. If he’d happened to misstep and rolled off…… It was terrible just to imagine.
Beni, embraced as if colliding with Ruan’s chest, saw his roughly hardened face and completely lost his spirit.
The expression that had been looking at him with a smile just moments ago disappeared without a trace, and he only looked up at Ruan unsteadily.
Belatedly realizing that fact, Ruan gently pressed down and subdued his momentum that had turned fierce from surprise.
“I’m not angry. I was surprised because you’re in such a dangerous place, so my voice got louder. I’m sorry, Beni.”
When Ruan gently rubbed the clear cheeks stained with dust and dirt with his thumb, only then did Beni let out a small laugh, as if ticklish.
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry for startling you. But it’s not as dangerous here as you think! If you come up from the greenhouse second floor, it’s not that difficult to get here, and the glass is solid so even though I was up there for about two hours, not a single crack appeared.”
As if wanting to confirm it was safe, Beni squirmed. Though it was cute to see him struggling with a body much smaller than his own, Ruan had no intention of putting him down. Instead, he cupped the back of Beni’s head with his hand and made his face bury in his chest.
At the sudden action, Beni’s body tensed, but soon his vision wavered and he felt dizzy. At the sensation he’d felt yesterday too, Beni relaxed and quietly closed both eyes while embraced in the Demon King’s arms. When his vision was blocked, his other senses became sensitive.
Originally Beni’s sense of smell was the best anyway, and being this close, his body scent permeated deeply with each breath he took. It was a scent he’d wanted to avoid before, but now it gave him more stability than anything else. If he were a rabbit right now, he probably would have fallen asleep in this warm, no, hot embrace without any shame.
Beni, who had become drowsy, slightly clenched his palm that was against Ruan’s solar plexus area, and according to that gesture, the top crumpled. Around the time he thought the pulse thumping against his palm seemed to be getting faster, Ruan called him.
“Beni.”
When he lifted his face that had been leaning against his chest, it was the greenhouse floor. When Ruan put Beni down, he felt somehow regretful but didn’t show it.
“Then now you should tell me why you went up there, right? I’m sure I told you to only clean this place.”
The gaze fixed on Beni was persistent as if he must hear the reason, but Beni wasn’t scared like before. He just glanced at him slightly before opening his mouth.
“The plants weren’t growing well…… It seemed to be because vines were growing on the greenhouse ceiling so sunlight wasn’t coming in well, so I went up to clear them……”
When Ruan looked up, certainly the Bonvine Blossom vines had decreased compared to before, and more sunlight was shining into the greenhouse. Even after hearing the reason, Ruan’s expression didn’t soften.
“The Head Servant definitely told you not to do dangerous work, Beni.”
Though it had passed without incident now, unlike inside the castle with many eyes, if something happened to Beni here, it would be hard to discover easily. Of course, if Beni became endangered, he would know immediately, but Ruan hoped a dangerous situation wouldn’t occur in the first place.
In the stern atmosphere, Beni bowed his head while fidgeting with both hands.
“I’m sorry…… I thought clearing vines was something I could do. I’ll only do what you tell me from now on.”
Though it was definitely the answer he wanted, Ruan didn’t feel comfortable at all. Rather, he started getting angry at himself for making Beni apologize. Like the snake incident last time, and this time too, he who had considered it too complacently was the problem.
Though he never dreamed Beni would climb the greenhouse ceiling, he should have considered even things outside the expected range to protect him safely. It was when Ruan bent his knees to match Beni’s eye level. Beni first lifted his face and took half a step toward Ruan.
“You seem to find this place comfortable, so I wanted to make it prettier to show you. I won’t do dangerous work, so can’t I manage other places besides the couch?”
Beni sneakily tugged slightly at Ruan’s sleeve.
“You’re always so good to me, so I want to be more helpful to you too, Demon King-nim.”
When a rabbit, Beni approached him without hesitation and sometimes even acted cute like showing his belly, but the true form Beni was on the passive side. Though he was less afraid of him than before, he didn’t approach first either.
Such a Beni had actually closed the distance with him on his own and even grabbed his sleeve. This, this is practically acting cute. Beni is acting cute to me right now. He wanted to tell him to just take the entire greenhouse right now.
Thump, thump thump, thump thump.
Vibrations rang in his head as if someone was beating a drum, and his vision kept blurring. He should capture Beni’s face looking up at him earnestly with gentle eyes in the recording orb right now, he should!
“Demon King-nim?”
“Urk!”
Ruan suddenly clutched his chest and began to stagger. Beni saw the Demon King’s red eyes whose pupils had suddenly greatly dilated and urgently tried to support him, but it was impossible.
Thud, Ruan finally collapsed on the greenhouse floor. Greatly shocked, Beni urgently grabbed the Demon King’s shoulders and shook them, but he didn’t even budge.
“Demon King-nim! Come to your senses!”
It was the moment when Beni, frightened, stood up abruptly to go call Tallos.
“Your Majesty!”
Bang, the greenhouse door was thrown open so hard it cracked, and there stood Marcel with a face so fierce that blood vessels showed in the whites of his eyes.
Ruan Astra Bel Carnean, 32 years old. He experienced his second fainting in his life since the time he did cold weather training at age 10. The cause was mana backflow due to a momentary increase in heart rate.
